Feel free to use this entry as a place for you to share your opinions, observations, complaints, rooting, and other sundry comments with fellow fans during the playing of the Yankees game this evening.

The New York Yankees have held discussions with the Miami Marlins about a trade involving their third baseman in crisis, Alex Rodriguez.

Sources close to both organizations confirm the Yankees would pay all – or virtually all – of the $114,000,000 Rodriguez is owed in a contract that runs through the rest of this season and the next five. One alternative scenario has also been discussed in which the Yankees would pay less of Rodriguez’s salary, but would obtain the troubled Marlins’ reliever Heath Bell and pay what remains of the three-year, $27,000,000 deal Bell signed last winter.

None of the sources could give an indication as to how serious the discussions have already gotten, but one of them close to the Marlins’ ownership said he believed the trade made sense for both sides, and would eventually be made in some form.

Dude just called WFAN at 2:51 PM. I swear, it as not me. But, he said everything that I would have said…about how it’s hard to have a connection with this Yankees team and how many on the roster are hard to like…

[Alex] Rodriguez has never been a comfortable fit with the Yankees. He’s a target for the tabloids, even when he’s not in the game, a reminder of which came with a report in the New York Post that he spent some of his time on the bench Saturday night flirting with two fans two rows behind the New York dugout. And at 37, with his skills in decline, he still has five years and $114 million guaranteed to run on his contract, plus the power to veto a trade. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

In the National League, Atlanta could use a name to replace Chipper Jones at third. Rodriguez also would be a fit at third for Miami, where he grew up and owns a home that he’s trying to unload for $38 million. The Dodgers’ new ownership hasn’t been shy about accumulating high-priced talent and current third baseman Luis Cruz isn’t going to help sell tickets.

But A-Rod to the American League seems like a better deal all around. His current contract contains a number of bonuses for career milestones — all home runs — and his best chance to eventually reach those is as a designated hitter.

Based on his performance this season, Rodriguez would be an immediate upgrade at third over the platoon of Maicer Izturis and Alberto Callaspo the Los Angeles Angels deployed this season and he’d be popular with the team’s Latino fan base as long as he remained productive.

Even the Chicago White Sox might be an option, since the club has made a habit of taking on fading stars in recent years, so long as the price is right. Best of all, though, might be the Houston Astros, who have money to throw around as a result of an agreement with Major League Baseball to move to the AL next season, and desperately could use the buzz.

That said, not one of those clubs is likely to consider Rodriguez at the full retail price. But the Yankees have a history of unloading high-priced talent by continuing to pay part of the bill and estimates the team would have to fork over somewhere between 50 and 75 percent of his salary for the next five years aren’t necessarily a deal-breaker. Not after this postseason.

Recently, Yankees President Randy Levine was asked whether he thought A-Rod would still be wearing pinstripes when his current deal ended in 2017. He told ESPN Radio in New York, “That’s like one of those questions: Where’s the stock market going to be in 2017, who’s going to be president on Nov. 15?

“If I had crystal ball to predict all of that stuff, I’d be a lot smarter than I am,” he added. “I’m not going to go there.”

Not yet, anyway, and not before this season comes to a merciful conclusion. But Rodriguez lost the fans long ago, and from the sound of things Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman might not be too far behind.

The key, in all this, is that A-Rod has to want to leave and then the Yankees can try and find a parking spot for him. But, unless Alex says that he’s willing to accept a trade, he’s not leaving New York.

Maybe this post-season experience is enough to make A-Rod want to leave the Yankees?

And, if Rodriguez says he wants to move, the Yankees would be smart to eat as much salary as it takes to get him out of town.

Feel free to use this entry as a place for you to share your opinions, observations, complaints, rooting, and other sundry comments with fellow fans during the playing of the Yankees game this evening.

You can see many signs of A-Rod’s slowing bat speed, from pitchers no longer afraid to pitch him inside to various analysts breaking down his swing. The numbers support a player who has expanded the strike zone, which I believe suggests a player “cheating” to catch up to pitches, and is losing plate discipline in the process. Check out the percentage of A-Rod’s swings on pitches outside the strike zone in recent years:

In 2007, Rodriguez had 120 strikeouts and 95 walks. In 2012, those figures were 116 and 51 (in nearly 200 fewer PAs).

Rodriguez has five years remaining on his deal. Ignoring the fact that he won’t be a $28 million player in 2013, the bigger question: How many years does he have left as a decent player, regardless of salary? One? Two? At some point in the future, the Yankees may have to bite the bullet and eat a lot of salary — or risk playing a guy who no longer helps them win.

Shameless Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez was playing so poorly against the Detroit Tigers Saturday night that he was yanked from the lineup — but that didn’t stop him from trying to score.

After being replaced in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, the highest-paid Yankee openly flirted with a pair of pretty women two rows behind the dugout — even sending them a ball bearing a note asking for their phone numbers, a witness told The Post.

“I watched him flirt with two admittedly very cute young women nearby,’’ the witness said.

Instead of rooting on his teammates as they struggled to stay alive during the tense game at Yankee Stadium, A-Rod, 37, had a ball boy toss the young women a baseball inscribed with a message asking for their numbers.

“Alex was holding a pen and wrote a note on a ball which was thrown at the women by a ball boy,’’ the witness explained.

“The girls, who had already caught two balls, seemed bemused at first and tried to hand the ball to another fan, but other fans noticed the note on it and yelled at them to read it.

“The note asked them to write their phone numbers on the ball and throw it back,’’ the witness said.

“One of the girls, with darker blond hair, wrote . . . on the ball and threw it back at A-Rod, who gave her a big smile.”

“They exchanged a few glances after that,’’ as A-Rod took a powder while a pinch-hitter took his place at the plate.

Raul Ibanez performed under pressure, tying the score in the bottom of the ninth.

In the 12th, team captain Derek Jeter broke his ankle — and A-Rod finally wised up, the witness said.

“The flirtation stopped once Derek Jeter got hurt,” the source said.

The Yanks wound up losing 6-4.

They also lost again to the Tigers 3-0 on Sunday.

Fans sitting behind the dugout at Saturday’s game said they were disgusted after witnessing A-Rod’s shenanigans, which were more befitting a sixth-grader than a serious ballplayer.

“I was absolutely stunned that even . . . A-Rod would not be focusing on such a critical game, supporting his teammates, and was instead more interested in adding another couple of phone numbers to what must be a very, very large collection,’’ one said.

A-Rod’s rep referred questions to a team spokesman, who didn’t get back to The Post last night.

What if the Yankees manage a way to beat Justin Verlander tonight? I mean, after all, he ain’t God, man. In fact, there have been 88 times since 2005 where Verlander started a game and the Tigers went on to lose it.

And, what if CC Sabathia is a stud in Game 4 of the ALCS and carries the Yankees to a victory in that one?

That would turn this ALCS into a “Best 2 out of 3″ with the Yankees having the home field advantage.

Would this all change the Yankees odds to get to the World Series this year? Would it mean a sellout crowd for Game 6 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium?

The architect of these Yankees offers no apologies for the all-or-nothing attack of the 2012 Bronx Bombers . It’s no happy accident that they led the majors with 245 home runs (the most in franchise history), went deep in a major league- record 131 of 162 games and relied on the long ball for a third of their RBI production.

This is by design, and general manager Brian Cashman loves what he sees from this power-mad roster.

“I want a team that walks and mashes,” Cashman said. “And if you can mash and hit home runs, then you can hit singles and doubles, too. We’re not going to hit triples. But we’re built the way we are for a reason.

“I’m still using the Gene Michael playbook, and this is about getting big, hairy monsters that mash and are selective at the plate. There’s a reason we’re perennially at the top of runs scored.”

That’s the bottom line, right? There’s no extra credit for taking longer to get around the bases, no additional style points for nifty bunts or dramatic steals.

When Joe Girardi faced questions earlier this season about the Yankees’ occasional lapses with situational hitting– as he often does — he explained that home runs are just part of his team’s DNA.

As for runners in scoring position, well, Girardi pointed out that his players don’t need to be standing at second base for that. It happens as soon as they step into the batter’s box.

“Our bread-and-butter has been the long ball,” Nick Swisher said. “The Yankees have been doing that for years. On some teams, a guy may get a base hit, steal second and then there’s a single for him to score. With us, we might walk and then hit a two-run jack.”

These stats are through yesterday’s games. It’s the “Top 25″ best career post-season OPS totals for all players with at least 150 post-season At Bats. The data was pulled off this query. Of course, you have to remember that OPS is relative (and this is not OPS+ which is adjusted for era). So, if someone played in an era when offense was up, he would naturally have a high OPS as compared to someone who played in an era where offense was depressed. Also, it’s easier for a player today to collect post-season At Bats faster today since there are more rounds of the playoffs compared to the past.

These stats are through yesterday’s games. It’s the “Top 25″ worst career post-season OPS totals for all players with at least 150 post-season At Bats. The data was pulled off this query. Of course, you have to remember that OPS is relative (and this is not OPS+ which is adjusted for era). So, if someone played in an era when offense was down, he would naturally have a low OPS as compared to someone who played in an era where offense was inflated. Also, it’s easier for a player today to collect post-season At Bats faster today since there are more rounds of the playoffs compared to the past.

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It is truly amazing how much Cano, A-Rod, Swisher, Granderson and Martin have been terrible this post-season. And, now that Jeter is out, it only leaves Teixeira, Ichiro and Ibanez as the sole guys who have provided some support this October in the line-up.

Could you imagine what would be happening now if George Steinbrenner were still alive and in his prime? Kevin Long would have been reassigned to the instructional league during the playoffs.

I suppose that Martin is not a total shock. For most of the season, he was a joke at the plate. But, it’s almost impossible to be as bad as Cano, A-Rod, Swisher and Granderson have been this post-season. Look at their numbers. Give CC Sabathia a stick and send him to the plate and he could probably do better than the numbers those four have produced so far.

Then again, maybe we should not be shocked with the others as well?

Seriously, A-Rod’s been in a decline for a while now and it has really accelerated this year. Plus, outside of 2009 – where he had help from the Canadian Dr. Feel Good and the benefit of facing the Twins and Angels who never get him out – he’s always been a bust for the Yankees in the post-season. So, this should not be a surprise.

And, Granderson, this season, like he was doing in Detroit before he came to New York, turned into Dave Kingman at the plate. Sure, he can crush a mistake fastball. But, his swing has more holes to exploit than the Bunny Ranch and these post-season pitchers are having an orgy facing him.

Swisher? Check the career post-season stats on ‘Lish, The Red Light Clown:

For Yankees fans, the good news is that Swisher should soon be gone and Granderson will not be far behind him. And, for all we know, Cano may leave New York once he becomes a Free Agent. But, Brian Cashman is the G.M. who brought in Swisher and Granderson. So, as long as he’s still in charge, their replacements may be more of the same. And, A-Rod’s not going anywhere, most likely, because of his contract. (Unless, like he did in Texas, Rodriguez brokers his own deal out of town.)

Then again, maybe the Yankees will turn this all around this post-season and make all this lamenting seem silly? Just don’t bet the house on it. Because, if that happens, then that will be truly shocking.

Yankees fans turned their backs on the struggling Nick Swisher, and during Sunday’s 3-0 ALCS loss to the Tigers, the soon-to-be free agent turned his back on them.

In the middle of another brutal October for Swisher, who has been booed throughout the postseason, the rightfielder barely acknowledged his fans. It was a stark departure for Swisher, who arrived in a 2009 trade, then made himself a favorite with his jovial personality and his constant interaction. The lovefest ended Sunday.

“It hurts,” said Swisher, who said he was disappointed by the fans’ behavior. “Sometimes, I’m a sensitive guy. Some of the things people say, they get under your skin a little bit. But hey, man, I’ve been lucky to be here for the last four years, bro, and we’re not going to go out like this.”

But if the Yankees are knocked out in Detroit, Swisher’s critical remarks about the fans likely will be his final act in New York. The 31-year-old will be a free agent at season’s end and is unlikely to re-sign.

Swisher’s regular-season performances have been overshadowed by consistent postseason failure. To more boos, he finished 1-for-3, which put his 2012 postseason average at .154 (4-for-26).

Swisher acknowledged that getting booed for poor performances is “part of the game,” especially in New York where, “there’s a lot of expectations.” But he also railed against jeers he heard Saturday night when he had trouble with a line drive in the 12th. One play later, Derek Jeter fractured his ankle.

“Prime example,” Swisher said. “I missed that ball in the lights and next thing you know, I’m the reason that Jeter got hurt. It’s kind of frustrating . . . They were saying it was my fault.”

He added, “When things kind of turn like that, it obviously hurt a little bit because this is the type of city and crowd that really rallies around their team and that’s the reason we’ve got 27 championships. But to go through a stretch like this where it’s kind of a negative attitude, a negative-type setting, that’s tough.”

Swisher arrived at Yankee Stadium Sunday determined to keep his distance. He typically takes warm-up throws near the rightfield fence, within earshot of fans. But he took his tosses closer to the infield. He began his “Swisher Salute” in 2009 to acknowledge the Bleacher Creatures during the traditional roll call. This time, fans in rightfield noted on Twitter that he offered only a lackluster greeting.

Looks like the grinning WWE-wannabe ass hat is heading out of Yankeeland on a low note. I’m just surprised that it took him four years to wear out his welcome.

Kuroda pitched his tail off today, on three days rest, and got his line hijacked by a blown call at second base.

Still, if the Yankees go scoreless in the 9th – and it’s the top of the 9th as I write this – the ump missing the call won’t matter.

I saw the stat on Cano’s last At Bat where it said that he’s now set a record for going 0 for 25 in a post-season. Amazing, this is the guy who hit .615 in his last 9 games of the regular season. At this rate, Modell’s should stop selling Cano shirts…because they’re a choking hazard.

And, don’t even get me started on the strikeout kings, A-Rod and “The Grandyman.”

The Orioles are probably watching this game and thinking “How the hell did we lose to those guys?”

Now, I just hope that the Yankees rally in the bottom of the 9th and make all this complaining look silly. But, I am not counting on it.

I know what happened to Derek Jeter. I watched it, live, on television, as it was happening. And, I got all the details as I stayed up to watch the post-game coverage on YES.

And, my 8-year old son knows that happened. I told him as soon as he woke-up this morning. And, he then quickly ran to his iPod to watch the video replay.

But, that’s it. This morning, we’re both going about our business, taking care of what we need to get done, etc. And, we’re not talking about Jeter, or the Yankees, at all. And, that’s strange – given our passion for the team and the fact that they have a playoff game to play today.

Shock? Denial? Our brains and emotions overtaken by the somber event? Some combination of all that?

For the second consecutive playoff game, swaths of empty seats filled Yankee Stadium, entire rows without a single fan. And on Saturday night, instead of letting them sit embarrassingly open for Game 1 of the ALCS, ushers were told to fill them with fans from other sections.

“We were up there,” said Bill Brady, 46, of Roxbury, N.J., pointing from his new seat in Section 334 to the top of 434b. “Way up there.”

Brady was one of dozens of fans ferried by ushers in the bottom of the fourth inning to Section 334 down the left-field line, which just an inning earlier had nine people sitting among more than 100 unfilled seats. One usher, who asked not to be identified, said he was told by a superior to start sending fans to the higher-priced seats.

“I don’t know what it’s about,” the usher said. “I guess they want to make it look better on TV.”

While some Yankees fans mobilized on Twitter and other social networks to rationalize the second consecutive non-sellout, fans in Section 334 were miffed and disappointed that a metropolitan area of 22 million couldn’t sell out a stadium with a capacity short of 51,000. The announced attendance was 47,122.

Empty seats during playoff games are the domain of Atlanta – and even the Braves sold out their wild-card game this year. To see Yankee Stadium with giant blue patches not only down the left-field line but in Section 207 in right field was stunning and inconceivable for a game played at the old Yankee Stadium, which was shuttered in 2008.

“At the old stadium, a playoff game, Saturday night, it was electric. It was a zoo,” said Charles Weimer, 33, of Staten Island, who was sitting in the sixth row of 334. “There were guys in jersey-shirts, drinking $8 beers. They’re gone, and I don’t know if they’re going to come back. Your $10 tickets are $50 tickets now.”

What I really find amazing about this – and sad – is that the Yankees, and the Mets (for what it’s worth), won’t let you “sneak down” to a better seat during the regular season, even if it’s the 7th inning of a blow-out game, and, yet, the Yankees pull this move in the post-season, clearly, just to cover their embarrassment. Sad.

Feel free to use this entry as a place for you to share your opinions, observations, complaints, rooting, and other sundry comments with fellow fans during the playing of the Yankees game this evening.

I think the National League is anyone’s guess. And, if the American League, if Cabrera and Fielder show up, and if the Yankees bats are as quiet as they were in the ALDS, we could see the Tigers advance. But, anything can happen. Miggy and Prince didn’t exactly light it up in the ALDS. Gotta play the games and see what happens…

My son and I got up to the Stadium yesterday around 3:45 PM. I think there were less than 1,000 people inside the Stadium when we first walked in…

And, in the first inning, it was worse. I was embarrassed. The seats were empty at the start of the game. It seemed like there was maybe 20,000 people there at the first pitch, if that. Where was the excitement that I promised my eight-year old?

It was pretty much that way for the first few inning. But, people kept showing up – I even saw some people arriving in the fourth inning, tickets in hand, looking for their seats.

As the Stadium filled up – and it never was completely full – the place was getting more and more like a playoff game experience.

After the Granderson homer, I said to my son “We got this!” But, then in the eight inning, we all starting getting very nervous. When Mark Reynolds came to the plate with two on, I said, out loud, without realizing it “Oh, no. Mark Reynolds. I swear to God, if he hits one into the seats, I will vomit!” (People around me thought this was funny – and, then, instead of it being me and my son at the game, it became me, my son, the guy next to me, the two couples behind us, and the two guys in front of us, all riding every pitch from there, together, like a family in a living room in front of a TV.)

Sabathia was the man, no question about it. This is Yankees legacy material.

My son and I had an incredible time. We were interviewed by some Asian news crew leaving the Stadium. So, somewhere – Tokyo? – people watching television know how excited we were over this win.

Coming home, was brutal. We live 50 miles south of the Stadium and it took us two and a half hours to drive home. Most of that, about 75 minutes, was just trying to get from the Stadium to the George Washington Bridge. But, it was worth it.

I just hope this is not 2003 all over again – where the Yankees put it all out there to win one post-season series and then didn’t have enough in the tank to be ready for the next one.